Roses and Rivers
by Tygger3389
Summary: The girl in question was young; maybe three years of age, with lots of curly, dark, just-sort-of-brown hair and a sweet, round, pleasant face. Jack shook his head, "Jackie say's she's Rose's and yours… well, the other you, that is." 11/Rose
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, so this was an old idea I had way back after they first introduced River Song and I've spent the past long time tweaking it. My friend and I had a little squealing match over the show and I let her read this chapter and she decided it's ready, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it ~ Tygger**_

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_**Doctor Who**_

_**Roses and Rivers**_

_**Chapter 1**_

The Doctor sat in the consol room in his new body, thinking about who he was verses who he is. Still not ginger…

"_Now, be honest…" His completely serious face seemed to confuse the beautiful blond girl, "How do I look?"_

_He could see her resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "Um, different?"_

"_Good different or bad different?" He quizzed, desperate for her opinion._

"_Just different…" She shrugged._

_Alright, he'd settle for that for now, but he had to ask, "Am I… ginger?"_

"_No," she said, waving her hand by the top of her head, "You're just sort of brown."_

"_Aw!" He complained, "I wanted to be ginger! I've never been ginger!"_

… But he'd loved being that man almost as much as he'd loved her… he was her doctor. He was rude and funny and sexy and could rattle on for hours. Now they were both gone and he didn't know who he was now, all he knew was he missed her. He missed her so much that both of his hearts hurt like they'd been ripped into a thousand pieces and set on fire. They'd felt like that since he'd left her on that beach. The adventurers and other companions had dulled the pain for a while, but it always came back to that day, that beach, him leaving. The first time was torture, the second time had killed him. He hoped… really hoped, that the other him was making her happy.

The Doctor jerked awake as the Tardis was filled by a loud buzzing noise. He was about to snap at Rory and Amy for the noise when he remembered they were still off on their honeymoon. He glanced around the ship, trying to find the source only to see a small rectangular object lighting up and vibrating on the metal grate floor of the consol room underneath the Tardis controls. He bent down to pick it up to find that it was a cell phone, a dusty cell phone that had probably been laying under the consol for months, for so long that he had no clue who it belonged to. Why would someone call it now? The phone continued buzzing as he picked it up and glanced at the call display. His hearts skipped a beat, there was a picture of him, the old him, and Rose with their arms around each other. They looked so happy, he remember taking that picture, they'd been heading back to see her mother, Jackie the fruitcake, Rose had picked up a pile of things for her at an alien flea market. She must have dropped her "super phone" in all the excitement. That had been the day that they'd met the "ghosts" the day he'd lost her… forever. He glanced at the caller ID, it said Torchwood in large, bold, rainbow letters. Slowly, hesitating, he pressed the talk button and brought the phone up to his ear. His voice failed him for a moment, but he finally managed to croak into the phone in his scratchy new voice, "Hello?"

"Hello?" Jack's voice rang out on the other end of the line, "Who is this?"

"Jack, it's the Doctor," His voice shook, "I've changed again, but it's me."

"Oh, good, Doctor," Jack sighed, "I need you to come to the Hub, we have a small problem that I believe you can help with… or contribute to."

"When?" He leaned back against the consol, realizing that he was floating in the vortex.

Jack paused, "January 7th, 2013."

"I'll be right there." The doctor told him, snapping the phone shut, he rose with a new sense of purpose. He smiled sadly to himself, glancing down at his feet as he punched in the destination, "Dust off your converse… it's time to save the universe."

He threw the final leaver and sent his beloved ship hurdling through time towards Cardiff, 2013. He landed the ship and scrambled for his tweed coat, wondering what adventures lay outside the door. The Tardis doors swung open into the Torchwood hub, which the Doctor found to be strangely empty. He could hear faint voices coming from the back room, but there was something in the main part of the hub that held him there. Despite the room being seemingly empty, he could hear heartbeats, four of them, other than his own, two strong and steady and two soft and fluttery, like that of a dreaming child. Then he noticed the sofa, sitting in the corner, by a TV and small coffee table piled with pizza boxes, on the sofa, covered by a blanket, he could see the form of a woman, her head hidden behind a pillow, breathing softly as if asleep. Slowly he approached her, trying to catch a glimpse of her face through the pillow and long mane of curled blond hair. He could see that the woman was wearing a dark blue cocktail dress, like she'd been to a party, and he could see black heels on her feet as they stuck out from under the blanket. Quietly he knelt next to her and brushed her hair back from her pretty face… and then he knew why Jack had called him there, because of that woman, lying on the couch, pretty and perfect. He knew her, her face, her smile, her laugh; he'd spent months, no, years memorizing every line on her face wishing that they'd be together forever, that it was possible. He stroked her pale, icy cold cheek with his thumb as he tucked the blanket around her shoulders and whispered her name softly, "Rose."

"She came through the rift an hour before I called you." Jack said from behind, startling him, "Nice face by the way."

"Thanks," The Doctor nodded, "Why is she here?"

"It's not just her," Jack shook his head, "She came through with a bunch of other people, including her parents, she's one of the two who ended up passed out."

"Who's the other one?" He asked, slightly surprised, "Show me."

"Over here," The girl in question was young; maybe three years of age, with lots of curly, dark, just-sort-of-brown hair and a sweet, round, pleasant face. Jack shook his head, "Jackie say's she's Rose's and yours… well, the other you, that is."

"Is he here, too?" The Doctor's head snapped up.

"No," Jack shrugged, "Jackie says he died, when River was a new born, heart failure she said."

"What did you just call her?" He asked, staring at the child who looked way to familiar for her own good.

"Jackie?" Jack asked.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "No, the kid."

"Oh, River," Jack nodded, "Jackie told me her name was River Song Tyler. Pretty name, Rosie always did have good taste in things like that."

The Doctor didn't reply, he just stared at his daughter and whispered, "River Song."

"I know that look," Jack shook his head, "That's a look that's the same on everyone. What's the problem?"

"No problem," The Doctor said quickly, "It's just… I know her. River. She's all grown up, but I know her."

"The question is, why are they all knocked out," A familiar voice rang out as Jackie Tyler came down the steps, "But the rest of us are fine."

"The rest of you?" The Doctor frowned, "How many came through?"

"Seventeen." Jackie told him, "That includes Rose, River and the other kids."

"Other kids?" He inquired.

"We had to bring through as many people as we could find," Jackie explained, "What, on account of the aliens killing everyone. Torchwood 1 has a bit of an after-school/full-time daycare for the kids of the people who worked there. All three of my kids go there. But anyways, we just grabbed as many people as we could and ran for the dimension cannon. Most everyone was dead already, but we found a handful."

"Three kids?" The Doctor wrinkled up his noise.

Jackie paused for a long moment and frowned, "Sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, of course, you don't recognize me!" The Doctor realized, "It's me, Jackie, The Doctor!"

"Doctor?" Jackie was a little shocked, "You changed again!"

"I had too." He told her, "Got some nasty radiation poisoning."

"Well you would, wouldn't you?" She sneered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The Doctor glared at her.

"Mum?" The voice was weak and soft. They all turned towards the couch where Rose was starting to sit up with her head in one hand, the other arm leaning on the pillow, keeping her up.

"Rose!" Jackie rushed to her side. It took everything the Doctor had not to fallow the blond woman to the girl's side. Instead he stayed with River, taking the moment to crouch down beside her and examine her. She seemed like a perfectly normal kid, there was no reason for her to be unconscious, but then her father had died of heart problems. The River he knew seemed to have no problems with faintness, not that he knew her that well yet, but then, the River he knew wasn't doing any inter dimensional travel.

"I'm fine, Mum." Rose told the fussy older blond.

"You are not fine!" Jackie snapped, "You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm okay, my head just hurts," She raised her head and froze, "That's the Tardis!"

"Yes it is, Sweetheart," Jackie soothed her daughter, holding her down by her arm as she tried to get to her feet, "Now I know you're excited…"

"Oh!" The Doctor tensed up as Rose went down on her knees, her heels lacking any support for her already wobbly legs. Jack rushed to her side as she leaned forward, leaning on the pizza box cover coffee table, "He's here though? He's here. Where's River?"

"She's over here." The Doctor nodded to her.

"Thank god." Rose sighed, then she took a second look at the Doctor's wardrobe, "Nice bow-tie."

"Thanks, Rosie," He grinned, "Bow-ties are cool."

"Yeah," She smiled, then she stopped and looked at the Tardis, then back him and at the Tardis one more time, "Doctor?"

"Hello!" He beamed

She stared at him for a moment, "You've changed again."

"Hm, yes," He nodded, "Like I told your mum, radiation poisoning, nasty way to go."

She was silent for a moment before she pulled off her heels, pulled herself to her feet and stumbled towards him. Standing, he caught her as she flung herself into his arms. He'd been worried that she would be freaked out by the change the way she'd been last time, but his concerns were brushed aside as she held him. Resting her head on his shoulder the way she always used to, she whispered in his ear, "Doctor, if you ever leave me again, I'll kill you."

"Okay," He whispered back, "That seems fair."

Then she tensed, "River, what's wrong with River?"

"She's fine," He told her, leaning down and smoothing the hair off her forehead, "She's just passed out, though mind you, I don't know why."

"Well, I passed out, too," Rose pointed out, "What about everyone else."

"They're fine," Jack chose this moment to cut in, "It was just the two of you."

"Has River ever had any problems with her heart?" The Doctor asked.

"No," Jackie offered, "One's always been smaller, but they both work just fine."

"Both?" The Doctor frowned, "But she's human."

"Mostly," Rose agreed, "But her father was half and half."

"That shouldn't have been enough to give her a second heart." The Doctor's frown deepened, "Rose, how have you been feeling recently?"

"Fine," She shook her head, "I've been fine."

"That's not true," Jackie scolded, "She's been getting rather sick recently. Headaches and chest pains and she haven't been sleeping so well."

"That hasn't happened for three months," Rose complained, "And the lack of sleep's not really a problem, I hardly ever feel that tired anymore."

The Doctor pulled his stethoscope out of his coat, "Rose, could I…?"

"Sure," she shrugged, sitting down on the edge of the stairs.

Rubbing the end on his palm for a moment to warm it up, he pressed it against the part of her chest exposed by the dress. At first all he heard was one steady beat, but as he listened more closely he heard something else. Moving the stethoscope to the other side of her chest he heard the exact same sound. Sighing, he sat back on his heels and stuffed the stethoscope back into his cope. Staring her strait in the eye, his face demanded no less then absolute honesty, "Rosie… how long have you had two hearts?"

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**_Don Don Don! Tada! Chapter 1, I was really excited about this story getting started and I hope you've all liked it. If you did like it, please let me know by reviewing. I hope to have more up soon, I seem to be on a roll right now but Murphy's Law says it wont last long. Cross your fingers ~ Tygger_**

**_PS. If there are any spelling mistakes, please tell me, I was extremely fed up with my spell checker when I wrote this because it randomly decided it didn't like the letters T and H when they were put together, weather they were in the middle of a word or not._**

**_PPS. This is officially the longest Author's Note I've ever written!  
_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone, thanks for being so patient with me! The new season of Doctor Who is out now so my excitement/inspiration for this story had returned! Yay! **

**First of all I'd like to say a big thank you to ****ileana425 for informing me that this story has officially been approved by the international fangirl federation. **

**Most exciting thing that's happened to me since I got my picture taken with David Hewlett. That's right, I'm an ubernerd. And for everyone who seems confused about the issue, I may use a lot of British slang and spend over half my life speaking in a British accent, but I am in fact Canadian! It's a bittersweet thing. Anyways! Moving on. At least one good old reference in this chapter! And Rose and The Doctor will talk... oh by. Hope you enjoy. ~Tygger  
**

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_**Chapter 2**_

"Excuse me?" Rose stared at him, not quite registering what he'd said.

"You," he said slowly, "have two hearts."

"She has what?" Jackie shrieked.

"Now, Jackie, calm down." The Doctor soothed, "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for this."

_Crack_! The Doctor's head whipped to the left as Jackie's hand connected with his cheek, "Logical? What's happened to my daughter?"

"Mum!" Rose protested, "That's not helping. Doctor what's happening?"

"I don't know." The Doctor admitted, "But I'm going to find out."

"Mummy?" They all turned to see River, now sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She blinked at the strange people around her, searching for her mother, "Mummy?"

"Are you my Mummy?" The Doctor muttered under his breath.

Jumping to her feet, Rose smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand, "I'm here, River, I'm here."

"Did we do it?" She asked, clinging to her mother. Her little green velvet dress crumpled around her white stocking covered thighs as Rose hoisted her up onto her hip, "Are we there?"

"Yeah, we're here." Rose soothed, stoking her thick, curly hair.

River's eyes scanned the room, "Is Daddy here?"

"Um," Rose froze, staring at the Doctor, unsure of what to say.

"Mummy," River prompted, "Is Daddy here? He said he'd be here."

Rose shifted her weight from foot to foot and awkwardly stared at the floor, "Um… Daddy… Um."

The Doctor watched her scrambling for a few minutes before it occurred to him what he needed to do. Nervously, he placed his hand on Rose's shoulder and smiled at the little girl, "I'm right here, River."

"Daddy!" She beamed, seemingly not surprised by his appearance, "You regenerated!"

"Yes I did!" He agreed.

Suddenly her face went pale and she looked sick and tearful, "Did the bad aliens get you? Did they hurt you?"

"Only a little bit." He offered, "It wasn't so bad."

"River," Rose smiled nervously, "Mummy needs to talk to Daddy for a minute, why don't you get Uncle Jack to show you how that big computer over there works?"

"Okay," River nodded, whipping her eyes and grinning. Rose set her on the ground and she ran off towards a large, important looking computer, "Uncle Jack! Uncle Jack! What does this button do?"

Rose grabbed the Doctors arm and pulled him a little farther away from where her mother and Jack where desperately trying to keep River from pushing every button in sight. She dropped his arm, "Doctor, I'm so sorry he dumped this on you! He knew you didn't do domestic things and I told him we'd be fine, but he…"

"Shhh," The Doctor reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. Stepping forward, he cupped her face in his hands and leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes, "It's alright, Rose. I told you to go with him and have a life. I never hoped to see you again. Now that I have you back, how could I be mad that you brought that life with you?"

"I… He…" Rose sputtered then burst into tears, leaning into the Doctor's embrace.

"Shhh," He soothed as he held her and stroked her hair, "Shhh, it's okay."

"I love you," she murmured into his shirt.

"That was fast," He commented, "Usually it takes people a bit to warm up to the new face."

"It's not the face that matters," She decided, "It's the man underneath it."

"I am a bit different," He pointed out.

"Have you started killing people?" She questioned, "Starting wars? Ignoring cries for help? Stopped laughing? Stopped running…?"

"No," He shook his head, "That's all about the same."

"Well, then," she shrugged, whipping her eyes, "You really aren't all that different in ways that matter, are you?"

He opened his mouth and raised one finger as if to respond, then thought and shook his head, "No, I guess I'm not then."

Suddenly there was a loud crash as a tray of medical equipment clattered to the ground and River's small voice was heard offering an apologetic, "Oops!"

Rose laughed and headed for the medical bay, "That'll be my baby, getting into trouble again."

"Rose's baby," The Doctor muttered to himself, watching her scold the child, "Rose's baby… our baby?"

"Confusing, isn't it." Jack grinned, "That whole, suddenly having a kid thing has happened to me a few times."

"With your track record," The Doctor replied, "I don't doubt the world is full of little mini Jacks."

"There's not that many!" He protested, "Like… eight… maybe."

"You have eight kids?" Jackie cut in.

Jack shrugged in response, "I think so?"

"You thinks so?" She rolled her eyes, "Men! You should know so…!"

"Anyways!" The Doctor piped up, attempting to steer the conversation away from the topic of children, "Jackie, I'm going to need you to tell me exactly what happened in Pete's world."

"Right," She nodded, "That's easy. It started when the aliens arrived…"

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**Yay, finally done with Chapter 2! Don't worry, there's obviously more to come! Until next time! ~ Tygger  
**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hello My Duckies! I have a special little treat for you today, my dears! I was away for the weekend watching a Doctor Who marathon with my sister and one of her mates when I got extremely inspired, so today, you are getting not one new chapter, but two! Yay for inspiration! ~ Tygger**_

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**_Chapter 3_**

"It all started when the aliens arrived," Jackie told him, "Or more, when we realized they must be there. See the thing is, I can't tell you what they look like, I can even tell you whether or not I ever even saw one. The only chance you had of knowing you'd seen one was if you happened to write yourself a note saying you did."

"That's helpful," The Doctor muttered, earning a glare from the woman.

"Shut it," She snapped before continuing, "Anyways, I don't know what they were called... didn't seem the talkin' sort. They just started taking over, killin' people for no reason. We tried to fight back, but there were too many of them and the second you stopped looking at them, you forgot they were ever even there. In the end, we barricaded ourselves in Canary Warf to keep safe. That Dimension cannon of Rose's was our last option."

"What did River mean when she said he told her I would be here?" The Doctor frowned, "I though her father died when she was a newborn?"

"River dreams," Jackie explained, "About you and your Tardis... she talks to you... well the old you."

"She thought I was really there. That's why she was worried the aliens got me. And for the record, I'm still the same person I was when you all left!" He argued, "Just got a new face."

"A pretty face," Jack commented with cheek.

The Doctor shot him a death glare, "I'm taken."

Jack shrugged, smirking, "That doesn't mean I can't look. You're younger than last time."

"Stop it, he's mine." Rose commanded, coming up behind him with River on her hip, "Where are the others?"

"In the conference room with your father," Jack sobered up, "This has been a bit of a shock for everyone."

"I'll bet," She nodded, "This whole dimension traveling thing takes some getting used to. They'll be alright."

"Rose!" Pete exclaimed as she walked in, enveloping her in a tight hug, "Thank heavens you're okay!"

"I'm fine Dad," she smiled, "River, too."

"What happened?" He questioned, kneeling down to examine his granddaughter anyways.

"We're not sure, yet," The Doctor offered, "Probably just a random anomaly."

Pete frowned, "Who's this bloke, then?"

"Oh, Dad," Rose nodded, "You remember the Doctor."

"Doctor?" Pete raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Blimey! Sweetheart, I know you said he could change but… wow!"

Rose just smiled, "How's everyone else doing?"

"Not so bad," He shrugged, "Shelly's in conniptions over the loss of her sister, but Bobbie's looking after her. Julia's tending to the kids while Ryssen and Tiffany are helping Jack's friend Gwen find food and blankets for all of 'em."

Rose bit her lip, "How many of us made it through, then?"

"Seventeen." Her father told her grimly.

"Seventeen," she echoed, swaying a little so the Doctor put out a hand to keep her up right, "Seventeen out of the thirty-four people we assembled? How many of the children made it?"

"Eight," Pete confirmed, "Including River, Tony, Shawna and Christopher."

"Right," Jackie nodded, "So that's us, Rose, River, our three and who else? I'll make a list up so we can keep track."

15"Shelly and her daughter, Page O'Connor," Pete listed, "Bobbie and his daughter, Bailey Johnson, Tiffany and her son, Nathan Jackson, Julia Adams, Ryssen Avalbane, Simon Bates and Cassie Donaldson."

"Cassie and Simon are alone?" Rose's face saddened, "Then their parents, Rebecca and Daniel Bates and Steve and Erika Donaldson, they didn't make it?"

The Doctor pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry."

"Rebecca and Erika were my friends," She murmured into his shoulder, shocked by their loss, "We all ate lunch together at work. What are the kids going to do?"

"Well for now," Jack jumped in, "Everyone will be put up in temporary barracks here. We have some rooms made up in the lower levels and we'll work on integrating you all into our world… of course, we'll have to make sure you don't bump into your other selves so we'll track them down."

Under any other circumstances, Rose would have laughed and joked to Bobbie that if he met his other self, he would have finally found his one true love. However nothing seemed funny at the moment, especially not the sight of Bobbie, Page, Bailey and Shelly, huddled in the corner, trying not to cry. Instead she looked at the list of people and the rooms available. She wanted everyone comfortable and with their family, so she immediately decided that previously mentioned four would take the first room. Tiffany, Nathan and Ryssen were placed in the second room, leaving the third for Julia and the two orphans and the fourth room for her family. The Doctor peeked over her shoulder as she wrote all this down and frowned as she started to scrawl her and River's names in the last box that represented a room.

"You know," he whispered, "Your room on the Tardis is right where you left it… more or less… you know, if you still want it."

She smiled softly, "Alright, it will feel good to be at home again."

A tingling sensation rushed through his body when she called his ship home and he beamed, "Yeah, it'll be great having you home again."

"Promise me, though," she leaned her head against his shoulder, "That we won't run off until everyone here is settled properly."

"Of course not," He smirked, "We'll fix things here first."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again my Duckies! Here is the second chapter as promised! ~ Tygger**

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**_Chapter 4_**

_"Rosie…" Rose turned towards the echoing voice, the wind blowing harshly against her from across the water. She'd come to truly hate this beach. Her eyes finally fixed on the figure standing across from her where, on the worst day of her life, her Doctor had stood. She guess it was a woman, from the basic shape, but it was hard to tell. The light that engulfed the woman was warm, gold and familiar, but caused a dull throbbing in the back of her mind._

_"Who are you?" Rose questioned._

_"I'm part of you," The woman's voice was dark yet soothing, almost like the gentle hum of the Tardis, "I'm part of her. I am everything and nothing."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded, feeling a bit frightened, "Stop messing about and tell me."_

_"I am Time and Space," The woman continued, "His perfect match. I'm his heart and soul… his only love. I am the Bad Wolf."_

* * *

Rose woke with a start, sweat on her brow, lips pressed tightly together. River clung to her arm, whimpering, "Mummy had a bad dream?"

"Um, yeah," She smiled weakly, "Nothing to worry about though. I'm sorry if I was loud enough to wake you."

"You were quiet," The little girl shook her head, "But I heard you inside."

"Inside?" She frowned, "What does that…?"

"Rose, are you okay?" The door slid open to revile the Doctor in a pair of plaid pyjamas with a bad case of bed head.

She blinked at him and nodded, "I'm fine, just a nightmare, how'd you know?"

He frowned a little, "I felt your fear… if you're okay, I'll leave you be, then."

"Doctor," She called out, stopping him from leaving, "Could you… stay?"

He paused, then nodded, slipping under the covers next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and River, the whole thing feeling oddly natural. He closed his eyes and smiled, he'd almost forgotten how nicely her body fit against his, every curve of her form pressing gently against him. He felt warm inside, "Good night, Rose."

"Good night, Doctor." She whispered back and they drifted off together, sharing a feeling of security in each other's arms.

* * *

"Right," The Doctor exclaimed, attaching electrodes to Rose's head, "This shouldn't hurt a bit. I'm just going to scan your brain and see what kind of funny stuffs going on in there."

"Alright," Rose nodded, biting her lip in that cute little way she did when she was worried.

"Now, now, Rosie," The Doctor comforted, "Don't fret."

"I'm just…" She paused to choose her words carefully, "concerned, you know, about what you'll find."

The Time Lord simply pursed his lips and flipped a switch, "Geronimo!"

"Oh!" Rose yelped, pressing her fingers to her temples, "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Rose!" He jumped, reaching for the switch.

"No!" she shook her head, "Don't stop, it's okay."

He shook his head, "This isn't supposed to hurt humans… not with your low level of psychic power."

"You said I have two hearts!" She reminded, "Doesn't that kind of change things? Besides, it's not really pain, just a tingling feeling, like pins and needles in my head."

"You're sure you're okay?" He confirmed, "Because I'm getting some really incredible readings over here."

"I'm okay," She insisted, wincing slightly. Nodding, he glanced back at the data and frowned.

"Rose! Rose, we may have a small… well, it's not a problem really… but it's something," He informed her. His frown deepened as he was greeted by a heavy silence, glancing up, his face paled. Rose was slumped back against the wall, head bowed, eyes closed. Putting a gentle finger under her chin, he tipped her face towards him. There was a dark trail being left by the blood trailing down from her nose and over her lips, catching and pooling in the crease of her mouth, "Oh no, Rose…"


End file.
